Reporters ask the experts: Does an AR-15 fire 8 rounds a second, or 700 a minute?

There no point anymore in noting that Islamic terrorist Omar Mateen wasn’t carrying an AR-15 when he massacred 49 people at an Orlando nightclub; his weapon was like an AR-15, and it would be a shame to waste all the progress that’s already been made making that particular inanimate object as scary as possible.

Now that at least one reporter at every media outlet in America has purchased one, there still is no consensus about it. Gersh Kuntzman of the New York Daily News test fired an AR-15 and claimed the recoil bruised his shoulder, while Sam Andrews, the New York Times’ expert, made note of the rifle’s fairly gentle recoil.

—@nytimes cites gun expert who claims that in "capable hands" AR-15 fires 8 rounds a sec https://t.co/roc8sSX6Yf pic.twitter.com/h1fLKXRmL4

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 17, 2016

The Times has zero respect for the facts at this point. It's all narrative, facts be damned.

— Paul #CountryFirst Drake (@PaulWDrake) June 17, 2016

However, Business Insider’s Oliver Darcy questioned the same expert’s claim that, in capable hands (sorry Gersh), the AR-15 can fire 8 rounds a second. Details like these become major sticking points in gun control legislation, leading to laws that let you keep your 10-round magazine, provided you don’t load it with more than 7 rounds — or are guns that can fire 10 rounds without reloading banned outright? It doesn’t really matter if you’re a criminal and do whatever you want, though.

Asked @Amanda_Furrer about this claim. She says she can only fire off about 3 rounds a sec.

She's an Olympian.

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 17, 2016

Here's video of Jerry Charles Miculek, Jr., possibly the fastest shooter in world. He can only fire off 5 per sec. https://t.co/mwwB5XyMV7

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 17, 2016

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Not really sure how the @nytimes can get away with claiming 8 per second. Imagine pulling a trigger 8 times in one sec. It's not feasible.

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 17, 2016

Oh it's doable…
…from an advanced instructor
…with a custom trigger
…repeatedly, in a patternhttps://t.co/WIUIAFPoKX

— BigMcLrgHuge (@BigMcLrgHuge) June 17, 2016

Does it really matter? It will when legislators sit down to hammer out exactly how many rounds per second the law will tolerate. Don’t forget:

"Whether we like it or not," says @VP at WH Gun Violence Prevention Conference, "there is a Second Amendment and it must be upheld."

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) May 24, 2016

For the record, Kuntzman wrote in the Daily News that a citizen with an AR-15 could “empty a 40-round clip in less than five seconds.” That seems to be the prevailing narrative, unless you’re Rep. Alan Grayson, who informed CNN that an AR-15 is capable of firing 700 rounds a minute.

Make it stop.